Chapter 411: Sunset
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 411: Sunset
As the Evil God chose to plunge downward with reckless abandon, the Supreme Place let out a thunderous roar, as if the entire space had suddenly roared to life.
This place was situated within the Emiel Cathedral, yet anyone inside would be horrified to discover that this sub-dimension was actually vaster than the entire Holy City.
A false yet realistic sky, an artificial sun, moon, and stars, and a terrifying, abyss-like depth—every detail showcased a "miracle" of creation that pushed the limits of human power.
And beneath this miracle lay a certain "Taboo."
A taboo that the Evil God known by the honorable name of Abundance must never, ever touch!
"The Mother of Abundance is diving at high speed!"
"Depth: ten..."
"Twenty..."
"Thirty..."
"Fifty!"
"He is still accelerating!"
In that instant, the Astral Observatory had already rapidly interfaced with the site. Observation instruments specifically designed for Evil Gods were locked tightly onto the deity’s silhouette.
In their anxiety, the observers even forgot the prohibition against calling out an Evil God’s honorable name. But at this moment, they couldn't care less. If calling the name could draw even a sliver of the Evil God's attention toward them, they would immediately use amplification magic to broadcast the words "Mother of Abundance" to the entire world.
But the current Mother of Abundance was clearly more stubborn than a bull in heat.
"Your Holiness!"
The cacophonous voices receded like a tide. Amidst the sea of Holy Light that was also descending, the wind whipped the Pope’s pale eyebrows and hair. His expression turned utterly cold once more.
He reached out a withered palm and made a grasping motion.
In an instant, the entire Supreme Place seemed to be gathered into his hand.
"Ulrons!"
"Present."
A cold voice echoed as a grand existence descended.
Sanctuary, expand!
A golden gate appeared before the Mother of Abundance.
Unlike the ordinary doors the Pope usually summoned—which were only large enough for a normal person to pass through—this gate was colossal, looking as if it had been cast from solid gold.
However, the gate was merely the outward manifestation of this power. What it truly represented... was space!
Two different regions of space had been linked by the gate. If the Mother of Abundance passed through, He would be instantly teleported directly in front of the poised Sea of Holy Light!
But the Mother of Abundance did not simply pass through.
From within His night-colored skirts, thick, hideous tentacles suddenly erupted. The cracks on His faceless head tore open further, revealing dense clusters of granulation that wriggled like a nest of snakes.
The observers screamed, bloody tears streaming from their eyes, as if they had witnessed something that should never be looked upon.
The Mother of Abundance continued to sink, His now hideous and bloated form slamming directly into the gate!
BOOM!
The golden gate shattered. Pitch-black cracks surfaced, and the entire space let out a groan of overextension.
But as the space fractured, countless severed limbs broke off from the Mother of Abundance, and His entire form seemed to dim slightly.
Immediately after, a second gate manifested. The Mother of Abundance did not hesitate for a second. He didn't even use His Authority, relying solely on the strength of the projection itself to violently smash into the gate again!
"Observation: Second gate shattered! Depth: eighty!"
"Third gate shattered! Depth: one hundred!"
"Fourth gate shattered..."
"...Tenth gate shattered..."
"...Seventeenth gate shattered! Depth... three hundred and thirty!"
"Dammit, we’re not going to make it!"
As the seventeenth gate shattered, the voices of the observers bordered on despair.
Through their instruments, they saw that even after the golden gate broke, a small fragment of the Evil God’s severed remains had passed through the fractured space and continued downward.
And the remaining distance... was no longer enough to expand the Sanctuary again.
It seemed the Evil God’s desperate gamble was finally about to pay off. His goal was within reach.
Under these circumstances...
"Forget it," the Pope said suddenly. "Let Him go."
"Eh?"
Hearing the Pope’s command, the observers, who had pinned all their hopes on him, were stunned.
Though they weren't high-ranking enough to know exactly what lay at the bottom of the Supreme Place, they could guess that anything an Evil God was willing to risk everything to touch was definitely nothing good.
To just let Him...
"It’s fine."
Facing their confusion, the Pope’s eyes remained calm.
In truth, even in the face of this crisis, he had only been momentarily startled when he first realized the Evil God’s true body was intervening.
But it was only a momentary startle.
Because everything was still within his control.
Though, regarding the trump card he was about to play... he really didn't want to let her reveal herself like this.
The Pope rubbed his temples and sighed.
"She is already here."
*
Beyond the seventeen gates, the projection of the Mother of Abundance was now nothing more than a broken, feeble remnant.
But even as a mere remnant, an emotion called "excitement" could still be read from that deformed, incomplete face.
The state of the body didn't matter. How much power remained didn't matter. What mattered was touching that. Yes, as long as He touched that, He could...
But then, the remnant of the Mother of Abundance suddenly froze in mid-air.
This wasn't because another spatial barrier had appeared before Him, but rather...
Because a letter had appeared.
A letter that looked perfectly ordinary, even mundane.
Yet, the moment this letter drifted out from nowhere, all of His movements ceased.
It was a passive cessation. The emotion of excitement was still frozen on those dense clusters of granulation. He didn't even seem to realize He had stopped—or rather, the only thing that had stopped was Him.
Because, accompanying the appearance of the envelope... was a grand, ancient tolling of a bell.
The Eternal Clock!
As the bell's toll faded, a misty figure stepped out from the envelope.
She had long, pale hair and eyes as red as amber. She wore cute pink strawberry pajamas, and her physique... was that of a loli.
Her age was unknown, but certainly no less than a thousand years.
"Oh my, oh my."
The white-haired, red-eyed old loli stood with her hands on her hips. She didn't spare a single glance at the frozen remnant of the Evil God nearby; instead, her gaze fell upon the distant Pope.
Despite the vast distance between them, the Pope felt as if he could clearly see the irritatingly smug look on her face.
"In the end, you still had to rely on these old bones of mine to step in."
The old loli sighed with affectation, as if lamenting the decline of the world. "The youngsters these days... every single one of them is so pampered and fragile. None of them are up to snuff."
"..."
The "youngster" Pope, who was several hundred years old and anything but pampered, suppressed the throbbing in his temples. He closed his eyes and chose silence.
There was no helping it. Who told him that, in front of this thousand-year-old monster, he really was... just a youngster?
There were levels to acting superior based on age, and in this world, there was likely no one whose level exceeded this old loli who loved acting young and putting on airs.
But unfortunately, he couldn't just ignore her.
Mela Domir, the only existing Origin-Tier Grand Magister. Though her personality left much to be desired, no one could look down on her vision or her knowledge.
*
Finally, the dust settled.
Though the process had been somewhat harrowing, the result was... relatively good.
The projection of the Mother of Abundance, captured with Mela Domir’s help, was extremely fragmented, but as the arch-enemy of the Goddess Emiel, the Evil God’s remains still held immense value.
However, after a brief tally of the damages, the Pope discovered a small flaw.
His calm gaze shifted to Mela, who was currently looking around like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time.
"What?" Mela crossed her arms. "Not allowed to look?"
"No. These things are no secret to you; looking is fine. However, what I want to say is..." The Pope paused. "Respected Grand Magister Mela Domir, weren't you a bit late?"
The Pope pointed to the side, toward the lost homeland, Cantville.
Currently, on the barrier protecting Cantville, a clear, massive hole was visible at the center of countless cracks.
But the Moon was nowhere to be seen.
Because the Pope had withdrawn all his power to pursue Abundance, combined with the tremors of the Supreme Place itself, that Moon—which had already been slapped into the barrier—had naturally... fallen into Cantville.
"Late? Wasn't I just in time? It just so happened that I wanted to see how far your Sanctuary had progressed."
Facing the Pope’s accusation, Mela raised an eyebrow and sneered. "What, are you blaming me for being late and causing you to lose the Moon's remains? Hmph, how stingy. It’s just a lunar fragment; that kind of thing isn't very useful to your Church anyway. It’s gone, so it’s gone. What do you want, for me to pay you back?"
"I have no intention of asking for money. As you said, it was just a lunar fragment."
"However, I do want to ask..." The Pope paused, his expression turning strange. "Did you forget that your disciple... is still the hell in there?"
*
[Content Rectified]...
*
In Cantville, Muen, who was about to reach the mountain's peak, kissed Liya’s lips.
"My lovely Liya, you really are a bit naughty."
"Mm... I'm not..."
Liya struggled to open her eyes, giving Muen a reproachful glare.
But it seemed that very bashfulness acted as a fuse, and everything finally reached the highest point in the clouds.
The two legs that had been wrapped around Muen’s waist suddenly kicked up, her fair insteps tensing straight, as the most moving sound in the world escaped her slightly parted cherry lips.
[Content Rectified]...
[Content Rectified]...
Seeing this, Muen couldn't help but show a satisfied and comfortable smile.
He reached out, pulling her closer again, stroking her with passion and tenderness, giving her light kisses.
[Content Rectified]...
"It's so hot..." the girl suddenly murmured, shifting her body as if uncomfortable.
"Hot? Is it?"
Hearing her voice, Muen’s movements suddenly stiffened.
He looked down with a strange expression.
He realized it wasn't because of that, since he hadn't laid down his arms yet.
Looking at the beads of sweat gradually surfacing on Liya’s fair skin, Muen finally seemed to sense something. He stiffly... turned his head.
"No way..."
Muen’s mouth twitched.
Because in his line of sight, that Crimson Sun—which should have been hanging high atop the giant tower, constructed from the Withered King’s divine favor—seemed to have... suddenly grown much larger.